Restricted non-catalytic oxidative regeneration



2 Sheets-Sheet l /n/g. 170i iff/100 ya E. B. BACKENSTO ET AL RESTRICTED NON-CATALYTIC OXIDATIVE REGENERATION FUI? PRESSURE IE'E/VE'RHW/V May 29, 1956 Filed March 12, 1952 @l am ,baud T .0 y N m e a u M M 0 N d .T 0 J c Z 4m M l d m W o f 0 4 w ,Q m P m l M 0 :q m M M M Ym M w M M m wi@ E@ .w QS. .Ek E mg May 29, 1956 E. B. BACKENSTO ET AL.

RESTRICTED NON-CATALYTIC OXIDATIVE REGENERATION Filed March l2, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 K/ m W /a /o wf, W/M/ nw .r 00o 1W 9m 0. n j N fg ci M l J. v/I/ M W a6 [/N g5. o c /u mm. M w W /E WWF. 0/ f a ,M i@ w/ 0 fWnJ l. S 71 w N EMI N m. IU I. #Wam E U www Mah l d WWW. o/ M/M #wf f M M M 0 m W M 0 United States aterrt RESTRICTED NN-CATALYTEC QIPHDATIVE REGENERATIN Elwood B. Backensto and Kenneth F. Hayden, Woodbury, N. J., assignors to Socony Mobil @il Company, luc., a corporation of New York Application March l2, 1952, Serial No. 226,216

2 Claims. (Cl. 2li-184) The present invention relates to the regeneration of alkaline solutions which have been used to extract weakly acidic sulfur compounds from petroleum tluids and, more particularly, to the regeneration in the absence of catalysts and at superatmospheric pressure of alkaline solutions which have been used to extract weakly acidic sulfur compounds from petroleum iluids.

For many years it has been relinery practice to treat mercaptan-containing fractions of petroleum to either convert the mercaptans to polysultides which remain in the petroleum fraction or to extract the mercaptans with alkaline solutions and regenerate the fouled solutions.

About years ago (l. C. S. London 127,898), it was first discovered that mercaptans can be converted to polysuliides Vby passing air through an Yalkaline solutionA of the mercaptans which are presumably in the form of salts known as mercaptides. Subsequently, it has been found that the reaction can be accelerated by the use of suliides of nickel, copper, etc., or polyhydroxybenzenes, such as hydroquinone, pyrogallol, and the like, or tannins, such as tannic acid, and the vegetable tannins. ln U. S. Patent No. 2,001,7l5, Fischer has disclosed that mercaptans, in the form of mercaptides, can be converted to polysuliides in the absence of catalysts by passing under superatmospheric pressure through the alkaline solution containing mercaptides. Thus, there is nothing novel in the conversion, per se, of mercaptides to polsuliides in the absence of a catalyst by passing air through an alkaline solution of mercaptides at atmospheric or superatmospheric pressure. However, when this concept is applied to the regeneration of alkaline solutions which are used in a cyclic system involving extraction of mercaptans from hydrocarbon iluids, followed by regeneration by airblowing and subsequent use of the regenerated solution to extract mercaptans from other mercaptan-ccntaining petroleum fractions, degradation of the alkaline solution occurs.

Degradation is defined for the purposes of this discussion as the reduction in the concentration of alkali metal hydroxide resulting from regeneration and is expressed las Absolute Solution Degradation in terms of pounds of alkali metal hydroxide loss per day per 100 gallons of regenerator volume. This term is merely a preferred means of expressing the rate of alkali hydroxide degradation.` Other means of expressing alkali hydroxide degradation such as pounds of alkali hydroxide loss per unit volume of solution circulated per unit time may also be used. Thus a conventional solutizer solution of potassium hydroxide containing cresols or cresylatcs as the solutizer, when subjected to regeneration with air under pressure and at a temperature in the order of 150 F. loses potassium hydroxide at a rapid rate. For example, a solutizer treating unit ltreating 13,000 barrels .of gasoline perday containing about 0.015 per cent weight,mercaptanysulfur,

where the foul treating solution containing mercaptides was regenerated to near extinction of mercaptides with air at a pressure of p. s. i. g. and a temperature of F., potassium hydroxide was lost at a rate of 71 pou-cds ot potassium hydroxide per hundred gallons of regenerator volume. A simple calculation establishes that the Degradation cost is about seven dollars per hundred gallons of regenerator volume or about seventy dollars per day for a 1000 gallon rcgenerator, and that the degradation cost per barrel of gasoline is about'one 'half cent per barrel.. When a tenth of a cent per barrel increase in treating cost is cause for concern, it is manifest that a loss of several hundred pounds of alkali metal hydroxide per day is an important item.

Since the use of superatmospheric pressure and ternperatures up to 200 Eaccelerates the conversion of mercaptides to polysultides, it isimportant to use the highest temperature and the highest practical pressure commensurate with the use of conventional regenerating equipment.

As shown in Figure l of the drawing, the Absolute Solution Degradation increases with increase of temperature of regeneration up to about F. but the Relative Solution Degradation which represents pounds ot alkali hydroxide loss per pound of mercaptide sulfur oxidized to disulfide during regeneration, is essentially constant up to 200 E". From a practical standpoint, this means that temperature has essentially no eiiect on solution degradation rate.

As shown in Figure 2 of the drawing, both Absolute and Relative Solution Degradation increase with increasing pressure in regeneration.

Thus, it is apparent that, if alkali metal hydroxide solutions fouled with mercaptides are to be regenerated in a practical manner with air at superatmospheric pressure, some solution to the problem of solution degradation must be found.

Before discussing the solution to this problem, it is desirable to revert to the Fischer U. S. Patent No. 2,00l,715. The purpose of the patentees invention was the production of organic disulde and related compounds from caustic solutions containing mercaptans and the like. The patentee represents the conversion by the following equation:

in which R may represent either aryl or alkyl groups. The patentes states that this reaction takes place at about l00 F. to 400 F.; that is to say, the patentee extracted a. distillate with a 3 to 6 per cent aqueous solution of caustic soda. The spent aqueous solution of caustic soda was heated to about 210 F. and preferably within the limits of 100 F. to 400 F. at 80 pounds pressureand thoroughly mixed with an amount of oxygen desirably somewhat less than that required for the complete regeneration of the caustic soda solution and insuflicient to produce substantial amounts of oxidesl of carbon.I The amount of oxygen to achieve the aforesaid end is indeterminate since at temperatures below 400 F. no oxides of carbon are produced even when the mercaptide content of the aqueous alkali metal hydroxide solution is converted completely to other products. The data in Table I establishes that no carbonates are produced at temperatures below 400 F. when the mercaptide content is reduced to 0.00. The data presented in Table I were obtained by subjecting a solution of butyl mercaptany in 8 normal aqueous potassium hydroxide solution tothe notedzin the table; -Y V Table I Mercaptides, C b WL Percent ar onates, Wt. Sulde, Wt. Oxygen Contact Percent X200 Percent K S Run TIP" Pressure, Time, Sulfur n 2 p. s. 1. g. Minutes Initial Final Initial Final Inicial Final 150 50 60 1. 88 0. 00 0. 00 0. 00 0.00 0.00 225 V50 30 1. 8s 0. 00 0. 00 0. 00 0. 00 0. 00 310 50 30 1. ss 0. 00 0. 00 0. 00 0. 00 0. 00 400 50 30 1. 80 0. a9 0. 00 0. 30 0. 00 2. l0 400 50 30 0. 30 0. 097 6. 30 11. 2 2. 10 1 00 400 100 60 0. 95 0. 15 0. 00 4. 84 0. 00 1. 50

Thus, it isfmanifest that in an aqueous solution of-alkali the formation of carbonate in the solutizer'solution. Presmetal hydroxide in the'range 150 F. to 310 l?. at least no carbonatesor sulfides are formed during the conversion 'of 'mercaptides kto disulides by oxygen. Thus, there is no degradation of the Vsolution when the solution consure equal to the partial pressure of oxygen at the desired air pressure was used. Thus, for regeneration at 100 p. s. i. g. air, the corresponding oxygen pressure is 8 p. s. i. g. Since initial mercaptide conversion rates using flins 1101113 he melcaptides z md th? .alkali nal hYdfDXdS. 20 oxygen agree with values obtained using air this means 'p rt l er thlldhfh mhaddluofl to he mefclptldfs of eliminating the formation of carbonates is not objecan a a l me a y 10x1 e t e so. ump contains p enosz tionable. The data reported in Table Il are given interms :such as the cresylates, the degradation by loss of alkali of ai n r pressure. metal hydroxide 1s a'practlcal economic problem. h

'It has been found that the degradation of treating solu- 25 SOIU'UGUI Aqueous 6 N KOH- 2 N KCI tions containing cresylates as sglutizers can be Substau- Mefcapllsl lYllXed lllercaptans eXtraCted from gaSOline tially reduced by leaving in the regenerated solution a ReSldSnCe time: l5 minutes critical amount 0f unconverted meraptides, The data Air inlet ratei 6.0 C. F. MJ 100 gal. regelelalol Volume presented in Table Il establish that the minimum con- Solution circulation rate: 6.6 G. P. 'MJ 100 gal. regencentration of mercaptide sulfur to reduce solution degradaerator volume Table Il Pressure Atmospheric 100 p. s. i. g.

Temperature, F 130 130 130 130 130 130 160 160 160 200 Regenerated Solution:

weight Percent S (RSK). 30 0 0. 08 0. 05 0.08 0 0s 0. 20 0. 08 KOHL l 415 A12 s 4155 s4 66 4193 78 76 72 KOH Loss2 a a 0.15 n 0.49 0.35 a 0.30 0.26 0.33 Reduction of KOI-i. Loss Percent 40.7 45.8 57.5 59.6 00.6 63.3

l KOH 1oss-1bs./day/100 gallon regenerator volume. 2 KOH loss-lbJlbs. sulfur regenerated. 3 3.3 N NaOH-2 N KOr solution.

4 N0 RSH-S added.

ft'io'n isr0.05 weight per cent sulfur (RSM) (where M is Na or K) and can be 'as high as 0.50 'although because of the effect of re-entry `value upon the extraction capabilities of the vregenerated solutionit is preferred to maintain the level of unconverted mercaptides at about 0.05 to 0.10 weight per cent.

The data presented in Table Il were obtained by recir- -culating live gallons of a 6 N KOH- 2 N KCr solution through a turbo-aerator at a rate (0.22 G. P. M.) to give 15 minutes residence time (6 N KOH- 2 N KCr is an aqueous solution 6 normal to potassium hydroxide and 2 normal to potassium cresylate). All runs were divided into periods of from three to seven and live tenths hours. The-number of `periods per run varied from three to twelve, representing in some cases 200 operational cycles. A constant temperature was maintained by pumping the solutizer solution through a heat exchanger before it entered the turbo-'aeratorrT he mercapta'ns were injected continuously into thesolutizer solution at a point before it entered the heat exchanger. The rate of mercaptan addition was controlled to give a constant mercaptide content in the regenerated solution. The air supply to the turboaerator was kept constant throughout a run. Liquid and vapor leaving the turbo-aerator were passed into a vessel where gasesand disulide'oil were separated from the solu- "tizer solution. VThe 'gases were passed through a wet test meterlandrejected The lean solutizer solution was then recycled.

The runs weremade with 'oxygen to eliminate ythecarbon dioxide normally present in air which Iwould "cause lt has been established that in non-catalytic regeneration increasing the pressure from atmospheric to p. s. i. g. results in a three to four-fold increase in mercaptide sulfur conversion rate which is accompanied by an eight-fold increase in the solution degradation rate. However, for a given quantity of sulfur converted, the increase in solution degradation is only approximately two-fold. it will be noted that regenerating under conditions whereby 0.05 to 0.20 weight per cent mercaptide sulfur remains in the regenerated solution reduces the solution degradation from lbs./day/ 100 gallons t0 66 lbs./day/ 100 gallons for regeneration at 130 F. at 100 p. s. i. g. and from 193 lbs. to 76 lbs./day/l00 gallons for regeneration at F. at 100 p. s. i. g. In other words, retention in the regenerated solution of from 0.05 to 0.2 weight per cent mercaptide sulfur when regenerating at 130 F. and 100 p. s. i. g. reduces the loss of alkali metal hydroxide about 46 to about 58 per cent and when regenerating at 160 F. to 200 F. at 100 p. s. i. g. reduces the loss of alkalimetal hydroxide about 60 to 63 per cent.

Accordingly, the present invention provides for the regeneration of alkali metal hydroxide solutions containing alkyl phenols at pressures in excess of atmospheric at temperatures in excess of 1007 F. for a period of time suicient to convert all but about at least 0.05 weight per cent mercaptide Vsulfur in said alkali metal hydroxide solution to polysuldes and to leave at least about 0.05 weight'per cent or about 0.05 to-about 0.3 weight percent mercaptide sulfur unconverted to polysuldes in the Vre- 75 `generated solution.

We claim:

1. The non-catalytic method of regenerating aqueous alkaline solutions containing alkali metal alkyl phenolates which solutions have been used to extract weakly acidic sulfur compounds from petroleum uids which comprises contacting at temperatures of about 130 F. to about 200 F. and at pressures of about 80 to about 100 p. s. i. an aqueous alkaline solution containing alkali metal mercaptides, at least 132 grams per liter of alkali metal hydroxide, and at least 200 grams per liter of alkyl phenols, but devoid of amounts of phenolic oxidation promoter effective to accelerate the conversion of mercaptides to polysultides with an amount of oxygen in excess of the stoichiometric equivalent of said mercaptides as a gas containing free oxygen to convert a portion of said mercaptides to polysuliides but to leave unconverted about 0.05 to about 0.3 weight per cent mercaptide sulfur in said aqueous solution, and separating polysuldes from said aqueous alkaline solution to provide a regenerated aqueous alkaline solution to be used for extracting weakly acidic sulfur compounds from petroleum fluids and containing said unconverted mercaptide sulfur and the original amount of alkali metal hydroxide reduced by not more than about 0.49 pound of alkali metal hydroxide per pound of mercaptide sulfur converted to polysuldes.

2. The non-catalytic method of regenerating aqueous alkaline solutions containing alkali metal alkyl phenolates which solutions have been used to extract weakly acidic sulfur compounds from petroleum iiuids which comprises contacting at temperatures of about 130 F. to about 200 F. and at presures of about 80 to about 100 p. s. i. an aqueous alkaline solution containing alkali metal mercaptides,

at least 132 grams per liter of alkali metal hydroxide, and at least 200 grams per liter of alkyl phenols, but devoid of amounts of phenolic oxidation promoter effective to accelerate the conversion of mercaptides to polysuldes with an amount of oxygen in excess of the stoichiometric equivalent of said mercaptides as a gas containing free oxygen to convert a portion of said mercaptides to polysuldes but to leave unconverted about 0.05 to about 0.1 weight per cent mercaptide sulfur in said aqueous solution, and separating polysuliides from said aqueous alkaline solution to provide a regenerated aqueous alkaline solution to be used for extracting weakly acidic sulfur compounds from petroleum iluids and containing said unconverted mercaptide sulfur and the original amount of alkali metal hydroxide reduced by not more than about 0.49 pound of alkali metal hydroxide per pound of rnercaptide sulfur converted to polysuldes.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,001,715 Fischer May 21, 1935 2,080,654 Craig May 18, 1937 2,248,109 Morrison et al. July 8, 1941 2,413,945 Bolt Jan. 7, 1947 2,426,087 Fetterly Aug. 19, 1947 2,431,770 Payne Dec. 2, 1947 2,432,301 Fetterly Dec. 9, 1947 2,472,473 Fetterly June 7, 1949 2,583,083 Bond Jan. 22, 1952 2,600,465 Bond June 17, 1952 

1. THE NON-CATALYTIC METHOD OF REGENERATING AQUEOUS ALKALINE SOLUTIONS CONTAINING ALKALI METAL ALKYL PHENOLATES WHICH SOLUTIONS HAVE BEEN USED TO EXTRACT WEAKLY ACIDIC SULFUR COMPOUNDS FROM PETROLEUM FLUIDS WHICH COMPRISES CONTACTING AT TEMPERATURES OF ABOUT 130* F. TO ABOUT 200* F. AND AT PRESSURES OF ABOUT 80 TO ABOUT 100 P. S. I. AN AQUEOUS ALKALINE SOLUTION CONTAINING ALKALI METAL MERCAPTIDES, AT LEAST 132 GRAMS PER LITER OF ALKALI METAL HYDROXIDE, AND AT LEAST 200 GRAMS PER LITER OF ALKYL PHENOLS, BUT DEVOID OF AMOUNTS OF PHENOLIC OXIDATION PROMOTER EFFECTIVE TO ACCELERATE THE CONVERSION OF MERCAPTIDES TO POLYSULFIDES WITH AN AMOUNT OF OXYGEN IN EXCESS OF THE STOICHIOMETRIC EQUIVALENT OF SAID MERCAPTIDES AS A GAS CONTAINING FREE OXYGEN TO CONVERT A PORTION OF SAID MERCAPTIDES TO POLYSULFIDES BUT TO LEAVE UNCONVERTED ABOUT 0.05 TO ABOUT 0.3 WEIGHT PER CENT MERCAPTIDE SULFUR IN SAID AQUEOUS SOLUTION, AND SEPARATING POLYSULFIDES FROM SAID AQUEOUS ALKALINE SOLUTION TO PROVIDE A REGENERATED 